


miscalculation

by milahtalas



Category: Ride or Die (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:47:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23263462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milahtalas/pseuds/milahtalas
Summary: There's a flaw in Colt's plan.
Relationships: Colt Kaneko/Main Character (Ride or Die)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	miscalculation

**Author's Note:**

> takes place in chapter 10 and chapter 12.

“Colt. My office, now.”

Colt puts down the mug in his hand with more force than intended, the contents sloshing over the sides. The Grapevine job had kept them all up last night, and Colt is not in the mood to tolerate his father’s shit so early in the morning. 

He begrudgingly makes his way to his father’s office, leaning on the table with his arms crossed. “I don’t suppose you called me here to say good morning.”

“No, I suppose not,” Teppei looks his son up and down, before he meets his eyes. “The job last night. You did well.”

Colt’s eyes widens in the slightest, not expecting to hear praise from the old man. He’s been wanting to hear that his whole life, and yet—

“You didn’t call me here just to praise me,” though secretly, Colt wishes that were the reason why. “What is it that you really want to say, pop?”

Teppei lets out a sigh and Colt realises how tired his father looks, how defeated the look on his face is, how _trapped_. Now even more so with the shattered leg and the crutch he uses to get around. Colt hates it.

_Is this how the great Teppei Kaneko falls? The man always one step ahead, now in checkmate?_

“This is about that Brotherhood crew, isn’t it? Wait, no, you’re gonna tell me to go back to mom, back to college, get out of L.A. and out of your life again, aren’t you?”

Surprisingly, Teppei looks at him with the smallest smile on his face. “Much as I’d want you to go back to that life, I think last night’s a testament to the fact that you’re not, no matter how much I tell you to,” he shifts his stance so he’s leaning on his good leg. “So if you’re really going to be staying here, you need to know what’s going on. What’s really going on. Truthfully, you’re the only person here I think I can actually trust.”

“Not even _Logan_?”

Teppei winces the slightest. “No. He’s gone weak since he’s met the girl.”

“She’s a liability.”

“Is that what you think of her?”

Colt’s eyes find the floor. “It’s the truth and she knows it. Her dad’s a cop, even though she’s not with him right now, she’ll go back eventually. She cares too much about her old life and her family to leave it all behind.” 

_Much like me._

A pause. And then —

“I’ve known her father was the cop assigned to our case since the beginning.”

Colt’s eyes widen as he looks incredulously at his father. “Wait, so—“

“I told Logan to seek her out, earn her trust, get some leverage on her father that we could use.”

Colt thinks of Ellie Wheeler, the girl who’s defied every expectation he’s had of her since day one, the girl whose determination was a force to be reckoned with, who knew what she wanted and would stop at nothing to get it. The same girl whose fire paralleled Colt’s own. Being around Ellie was exhilarating, and after every second Colt was left wanting more from the girl whose capabilities matched his. And to hear that all they’ve done is _lie to her…_

“You sent Logan to _seduce her—_ “ Colt feels anger rising in him, an emotion he knows much too well. “—and you both have done nothing but lie to her. How do you think this is going to end up, old man? You think she’s going to stay with the crew once this is all over? Ellie deserves better than _Logan—_ “

“I don’t care about your petty squabbles with Logan or your… _affections_ for Ellie Wheeler. I’m telling you this because one day, when the time comes that we face the Brotherhood,” Teppei pauses, then looks Colt in the eye. “I’m going to need you to get rid of her.”

  


* * *

  


There’s commotion in the private lounge. 

“I can’t let you blow this, Ellie.” 

Colt’s attention immediately turns to where Logan stood. And with him? One Ellie Wheeler. The same Ellie who he drove to her friend’s home a few days ago, who straddled his lap in the driver’s seat, whose skin he marked and lips he claimed. _What is she doing here?_ He angrily thought. _How does she know about the plan?_

Colt knew that if Ellie had knowledge of the entire plan, she’d do everything to stop it. She's soft, _weak_ , and would’ve never allowed it. But Colt’s seen violence all his life, accustomed to it, let himself be corrupted by it. He was born into a life of crime, generations of Kanekos leading Mercy Park. And this? He’d fix his father’s sins, even if he had to do it with blood. 

“What? You almost killed Colt when you found out! I though you were against this whole plan!”

Colt walks over, into the lounge. “He came around to my way of seeing things.” At the sound of his voice, Ellie turns to him. If he looks close enough, he could see how the marks he had left on her skin were slowly fading away. “Ellie. Glad you could join for the fireworks.” Colt knows she isn’t going to stay for it, but a small part of him hopes that perhaps she would. 

“That’s all you have to say to me?” He could see the desperation in her eyes. “After everything we’ve been through?”

 _No. That’s not all I have to say to you. I want to tell you that you’re the best thing that’s happened to me in years. I want you by my side, and you’ve told me that you want to be with me as well. But I see that we don’t see this in the same light, and I’m beginning to doubt that we could ever truly be together that way._

“What do you want me to say? Sorry? I don’t want to lie to you.” In the corner of his eye, Colt could see Logan flinch as he stressed the word lie. If he was anything to Ellie, at the very least he could say that was never a liar. 

“Oh, now that’s a problem? You didn’t mind lying about your whole plan!”

Colt scoffs. “I didn’t lie. I hid the truth to protect you. You’re smart, Ellie. You have to see why I did it.” 

“Why you tricked your crew into doing something stupid and dangerous?”

Colt looks right past Ellie, over her shoulder, his face expressionless. “The rest of them might not love this plan, but they’re willing to do what it takes.” His eyes flash as they meet her gaze. “Even if you aren’t.” He wants so badly for her approval, but that clearly wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon. He has bigger issues to deal with.

She turns to Logan, stunned. “You’re really down with this? Handing a federal informant over to to his old crew? The F.B.I. will come after all of us for taking their witness.” 

At this, Colt starts laughing. He sees her glare at him. “What could possibly be funny about this?”

Colt gives her a smile. “The feds won’t do a thing…because he’s not their witness.” 

Confusion forms on her face. “What?”

Finally, Logan interjects. “It’s a lie, Ellie. We staged it all. The member we kidnapped isn’t a rat. We just made the Brotherhood think he is.” 

“Colt…this was your plan?” The look of surprise on her face is delicious, because no, it isn’t, not entirely. He has her to thank for it. 

“My plan? Ellie, this was your plan. It’s you who came up with it, remember? They have everything they want…but ‘we just have to make them _think_ they don’t.’ Make them believe it could all be taken away,” Colt remembers the exact moment she said those words, on the cliff overlooking the sea. “There’s only one thing they’re afraid of losing… _freedom_. No different from us. It’s the one thing the entire Brotherhood will step out of the shadows to protect.” 

Colt sees the gears in her head turning, everything clicking into place. God, how much he adores her and that big, beautiful brain of hers. “The man in the Badgers hat. It’s him, isn’t it?”

“We just had to get him alone…sometime the rest of the Brotherhood wouldn’t know where he was.” 

He explains and watches as the look on her faces morphs into one of disbelief. Then, Logan’s voice pierces through; Colt’s almost forgotten he’s there. “If the Brotherhood realises we’re lying, they’ll kill us without a second thought. That’s why we can’t back down now.” 

“I don’t understand. How’d you make it seem like he betrayed them?”

“First, we let them sweat for a couple of days, wondering where he was.” Colt urges Logan to continue. 

“Then I hid his phone in the federal building on Wilshire. If they tried to track him, they’d think he was with the feds. Kaneko told them we sprang him from a safe house.”

“And you didn’t trust me with any of this?” Ellie accuses. 

“I didn’t think you had the stomach. And I was right,” but how Colt wishes he wasn’t. “I knew Logan wouldn’t either. My pop said he got weak ever since you showed up,” Logan grimaces and looks away at that. That’s the difference between him and Logan: Logan had gotten weaker, while he’d only gotten stronger. “Only Mona had the guts. Eventually had to trust Ximena too.” 

_And Toby? Well, there’s something more to him than what meets the eye._

“Look, Ellie, this guy we grabbed? He’s a real piece of trash. He’s killed people.” As Logan says that, Colt almost wants to laugh.

“And now you’re killing him.” 

Colt steels his face into indifference. “What the Brotherhood does with him is their business.” 

“You know what they’ll do to him,” that, he does. And he’s more than willing to let them do it. “This isn’t you. This isn’t the crew I know. This isn’t the Colt I know.” 

Colt feels anger in his veins. “Then you don’t know us at all. Our life? What we’ve been through?” The anger subsides into sadness. “At the end of this, your dad will take you back. He’ll welcome you home. You’re a tourist. You’ll go off to college and forget all this ever happened.” 

_But I don’t want you to forget all this ever happened. I don’t want you to forget me and all the things we did. I want you stay. I want you to be with me._

“That’s what you think of me?”

Colt bites his tongue, the words simmering at the tip of it. He can’t stand to look her in the eye; the devastation he knows he’ll see in them. He wants to hold her in his arms, wishes they were somewhere else, the situation different. Instead, he doesn’t answer the question, knowing that the answer she expects is a yes. Colt’s never lied to her, and he won’t start now. “They’ll be here soon. We’ll finally meet the Brotherhood face to face. And we’ll be free.” 

“It won’t work, Colt! No matter what you offer them, they won’t let you go! You’re selling your soul for nothing!”

“Selling? I’m not selling anything, Ellie. Freedom can’t be bought. It can only be taken.” He heads for the door. He can’t be here anymore, he has things to do—

“Colt, please…You’re going too far. You’re not a bad person.” 

He hesitates at the threshold. 

_I’m not. I’m not a bad person. And I want you to see that. I want to be someone worthy of you. But…maybe I am. Maybe I am a bad person in your eyes. And if that’s the case, so be it._

“You don’t get to choose where the line is drawn,” Colt looks over to Logan. “Get rid of her, will you?”

  


* * *

  


As the sounds of the police car sirens draw nearer and Ellie holds onto him for dear life, Colt realises his mistake, his miscalculation. 

He couldn’t bring himself to get rid of her on his own.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://milahtalas.tumblr.com)


End file.
